Monday, August 2, 2010

Fall Into Grace

The thunder rumbles in the distance, but the rain still falls.  It's not coming in sheets anymore, and I'm tired of waiting, so we make a run for it.  From the livestock building at the county fair, we dash to our favorite place to eat, the local Lion's Club tent.  The boys run ahead of me, laughing and dodging puddles.  I jog behind with The Princess in my arms, ducking the steady stream from the clouds, watching her damp hair curl and eyes squint.

The door is in sight, and I slow slightly as I watch the boys slip safely indoors.  And then I slip too.  I slip and sliiiiiide as in slow motion I realize the river of water has puddled inside as well.  I scramble to break Baby Girl's fall as I sprawl on wet concrete.  She cries as she bounces off of me and into the small pond that is the indoors.



Some falls are private.  We trip up the stairs, carrying a basket too heavily-laden with piled up laundry.  No one is there to watch the clumsy mess.

Some falls are private.  We inwardly wrestle with ungracious thoughts.  We struggle with jealousy, bitterness, anger, laziness, selfishness.

Some falls are public.  They leave us with a limp and a wet backside for all to see.

Some falls are public.  We gossip, are rude or impatient with others, brag about accomplishments, get caught in dishonesty.

Private or public, all falls hurt eventually.  If our conscious allows, they leave us sore and and regretful.  And our hearts stiffen over time if we don't allow the Spirit's work in our lives.

But if we do allow, grace will cover all falls. 

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."  Romans 3:23

After picking up Baby Girl from the puddle, I turn the corner to see my dad.  I explain what happened, and he mops up the problem.  Grace, you see.  It wasn't his mess, it wasn't his impatient-with-waiting, foolish running in the rain.

God has done, does, and will do the same.

Fall into His Grace. 





holy experience


Gifts of Grace #151 -  167 :

God's grace to forgive and redeem

bruises heal

fun at the county fair

pork chops

hand-dipped ice cream cones

fresh-from-our-garden corn-on-the-cob

the first ripe tomato

the first cucumbers

Baby Girl carrying her baby girls

playing farmer

nothing went wrong

my mom and dad back safe from vacation

good books

accountability partners

the Psalms

clean sheets

rain



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16 comments:

alison said...

i have alot of private and public falls....both literally (apparently i'm uncoordinated...who knew?!?!) and spiritually (which i hate hate hate.....why are bad habits so hard to break??). i'm writing down this verse as a reminder.....as always, thank you for posting exactly what i need to read!! :)

Cranberry Morning said...

This is such a great post! A good reminder to 'keep our accounts short!' with God, rather than building up that wall of bitterness, anger, and other sinfulness that only destroys us.

Anonymous said...

Public falls are never fun, but thankful with you for gracious earthly and heavenly Father's.

Misty said...

this post almost gives me chills. i've fallen... privately and publicly both, and i know that the inside bruises wound as deeply as the superficial ones. oh, for grace that delivers!!!
and he Mops us up, yes!!!

i love these words today.

Stacey said...

Hand dipped ice cream cones make everything better.


Lovely words that paint a picture of grace!
Thanks for sharing,
Stacey
from the Gratitude Community

Heather @ Marine Corps Nomads said...

What a great visual picture. Yes, all falls hurt - big, small, public, private, physical, spiritual. Thankfully, we have someone greater than us who loves us unconditionally.

Have a blessed day!

Courtney (Women Living Well) said...

Beautiful post about grace - so truly pictured and stated - thank you for this heart warming post today.
Courtney

E Living said...

Beautifully written and so so true. Wow, so many blessings I have seen today. God is so good! Dropping by from the Gratitude Community - and so happy you stopped by my blog -
God bless!

Karen said...

Oh, that wonderful grace is so aptly described as amazing...

This was a great post...glad little miss blue eyes was ok from the fall...and her mom, too...

Angela said...

I just happened to stop by today and LOVED your post so I wanted to comment! You almost made me cry!! Ohh how I love grace too!!! Thank you for sharing your heart with us today!:)

Love,
Angela (from Good Morning Girls)

Angela said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Leah said...

I'm glad you and your little girl weren't seriously hurt! I actually cracked my tailbone from a literal fall before, but the spiritual and emotional falls I've experienced were even more painful for me. I appreciate your metaphor of falling into grace.

livinginbetween said...

Thanks so much for your kind words, friends new and old!

Susannah said...

Outrageous!!!! This post is superb. You make me teary... and speechless. Well, almost...

I loved this especially: Baby Girl carrying her baby girls

(((Hugs)))ღ

suzannah | the smitten word said...

this is a fantastic meditation. lovely.

we've been enjoying the fruits of our garden and a fire dept fair here, too. it's a great season.

grace and peace

Manda said...

Love those first veggies and hand-dipped ice cream cones. ~M

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